


Warm Waters

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Pridecember 2018 [13]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- Merfolk, First Kiss, M/M, Merman Atem, Merpeople, Tails, ygopridecember2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-18 02:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16986507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Seto Kaiba was living with a mermaidOr... well, a merman, he supposed, but then the mer-creature really hadn't seemed to care about identifying one way or anotherTo repeat: Seto Kaiba, one of the richest people in Japan, owning the largest gaming company in the world, was sharing his residence with a creature that should, reasonably, only exist in Disney movies and reports from drunken sailors dating back several hundred years





	Warm Waters

**Author's Note:**

> Day 13 of Pridecember 2018- "Tail"

Seto Kaiba was living with a mermaid

Or... well, a mer _man_ , he supposed, but then the mer-creature really hadn't seemed to care about identifying one way or another

To repeat: Seto Kaiba, one of the richest people in Japan, owning the largest gaming company in the world, was sharing his residence with a creature that should, reasonably, only exist in Disney movies and reports from drunken sailors dating back several hundred years

In case anyone happens to be wondering, this came about due to an incident about half a year ago wherein the merman- Atem, being his name- had ended up caught in a fishing net

And even more concerningly, this apparently had not been an accident

There were people out there bound and determined to become every little girl's living nightmare by wanting to capture "magical creatures" such as faeries, unicorns, and mermaids- or, as Atem called them, "merfolk"

Personally, it was enough for Seto to deal with the fact that "merfolk" were real, he really didn't need to have all those other "magical creatures" on top of it making everything even harder for his poor, tired mind to process

But that was all a bit beyond the point

Seto had been Atem's means for escape from the fisherman, that was the point, and now he was staying with the human

At first it had been because Atem had been injured in the tussle with the fisherman and had needed to stay on the land to heal, but after only a few days of that, his reasoning became a bit.... different

Apparently those who had wanted Atem in the first place hadn't let go of their desire for a mer-person, and they had come searching for him

Seto still didn't know how the hell they had gotten his name of all things, but none of it mattered anymore, not at this point

He had gotten rid of them quite easily, anyone who came after Atem since had met similar conclusions to their missions

According to Atem, the CEO was some sort of rare and powerfull sea witch

Seto was trying not to linger on the thought too much, he was more than happy to ignore everything to do with this magical nonsense, but it had prompted Atem to want to stay with him long past his legs healing- "For your own protection" he had said

And yet Seto was somehow the one consistently saving him and not the other way around, huh.....

Well, regardless, the point was, Seto now had what seemed to be a permanent house guest

....

A permanent houseguest with a _tail_

And oh how Seto was _mesmerized_ by that tail, he had practically been dieing to touch it for months now, just to see what it felt like, but he had been informed very early on, before he could even _try_ to touch the colorfull appendage, that tails were the most sensitive part of a merperson's body, and it was considered extremely rude- not to mention intimate- to just go touching them without permission

Seto had respected that- he wasn't a neanderthal after all- but he still hoped the day would come- and sooner rather than later, with any luck- that he could see what the incredibly beautifull tail actually felt like

He had been hoping for months, but when the opportunity finally arose, it took him by quite a bit of surprise

One of the things that apparently made his home prime real estate for merfolk was the enormous pool in his yard, something he had gotten years ago at the prompting of his younger brother, though he didn't use it all that much himself and ever since Mokuba had moved out to be closer to his girlfreind it had gone without much occupancy

....

Until Atem

The merman loved the land, he loved exploring all of it's curiosities and seeing what life was like outside of the water, but his homesicknes was much worse and came creeping up on him much sooner and more intensely than what Seto considered to be average

Chances were, unless he was with Seto or asleep, Atem was probably located either in the large bathtub near the master bedroom, or in the pool outside

He felt kind of bad seeing the clearly wild and majestic creature cramped up in such a tiny space all the time, knowing how much he longed to be back in the seat, but what was Seto supposed to do? Atem was his own person who made his own decisions and he was always deciding to stay there with the "sea witch" (Seto could still barely take that title seriously) so it wasn't as though he was being held against his will....

It was alot though

All of it was just.... alot for Seto to deal with, alot that was on his mind, and when he needed to cool his head and think, there was one place he liked to go above all others....

The pool

So he found himself there, sitting by the pool, trying to relax and clear his head, not even having noticed if the merman was around or not yet, given he hadn't gone inside the house since getting home from work, when suddenly-

"Seto?"

It was a good thing Seto Kaiba wasn't one for jumping easily

He startled, barely keeping himself in his chair, and glanced down at the pool's edge

There was Atem alright, his arms on the ground, the tip of his tail poking out of the water's surface, almost teasingly...

"Mm?" was all he managed to respond with

"Is everything alright?"

He had to admit....

As much trouble as this mermaid thing had caused him, he wouldn't trade Atem for anything in the universe

He liked Atem, he was sweet and smart and wonderfully weird, he understood Seto in ways that no one else did- and the CEO didn't believe for a single second that it was just because merfolk were intuitive like Atem claimed- and the "Sea witch" (he still wasn't used to it) greatly enjoyed his presence

If he was ever going to admit to having a "freind", Atem would be it

"I'm fine, I just have alot on my mind," he muttered back

Atem tilted his head slowly, his big crimson eyes blinking slowly, like a cat, drinking in the information

"Would you like to touch my tail?"

Now if ever there was a time for Seto to fall out of his chair, this would certainly be it

The question nearly took him by as much surprise as the existence of mer-creatures had

"Um.... what... brought that on?" he asked, not even hesitating to rise to is feet and head over to the edge of the pool

"Mmm.... well, in my society, touching eachother's tails is a type of intimacy, and it can provide a sort of.... emotional healing, I suppose it would be the equivalent of how humans feel when they cuddle,"

Well, although Seto couldn't appreciate the analogy, he wasn't going to pass up the chance to do something he had been waiting for months to do

Once he was at the edge of the pool, the merman pulled himself onto the land, leaning back on his elbows and presenting his beautifully bright red and violet tail to the other

Seto's heart was pounding, excitement pulsing through every vein as he reached out and gently smoothed his hand out over the scales

Atem shivered, biting his lip, looking slightly flushed, Seto wondered if it was because of how sensitive tails were.. or if it were something else that caused him to appear so .... _heated_

The tail it's self was incredibly soft and smooth, a little like dolphin skin, he could tell that it was immensely strong too, just by touching it- as if he couldn't have already told that by having watched Atem all these months

The muscles flexing beneath the scales with every minor movement was incredible and alluring, he felt suddenly as though he were touching a wild animal, and the understanding of just how close to the wilderness Atem really was became quite clear all of a sudden

...

Ah, Atem was right.... this _was_ soothing

"So now that I have given you something, I wonder if I might get something in return," Atem mused, his tail flexing again as Seto moved his hand gently down to the bottom, stroking his fingers over the nearly translucent inside of the fins

"And that would be?"

"A kiss,"

...

Admittedly, if one had asked what Seto thought Atem might ask for, never in a billion years would he have guessed _that_

"A kiss?" he repeated slowly

"Yes,"

"Do kisses mean something special in your world?"

"They do, they're a dispaly of affection between people who care for eachother, especially lovers,"

Ah... so the same as it was for humans then, that was interesting

"Are you saying you want to be lovers?"

Finally, Atem shifted his tail away, moving to sit up and letting the bottom of his fin settle back in the water, moving a little closer to the sea witch

"It's taken you this long to figure that out hm?"

Ok, Seto could admit, he didn't even know how to respond to that

Not that he really had a chance to

Without another word, the merman reached out and tangled his fingers in the CEO's shirt, tugging him closer and into a sudden, soft kiss, his eyes closed, his posture relaxed, clearly at peace and enjoying this moment

For the record, Seto was enjoying it too, he would have enjoyed it alot more if he had been allowed to linger, but Atem pulled away fairly quickly, a soft smile on his face

"Are we lovers now?"

"We can be, if you want to be,"

"Good," the merman purred, his grip still tight around his partner's shirt

"Then we can experience this human 'cuddling' I've heard so much about,"

"Yes, we can," Seto agreed, unable to stop himself from smiling

....

Untiil he noticed the glint in Atem's eyes and how close they were to the water

"Atem-"

"Now, allow me to show you how we kiss in my world,"

"Atem, no-!"

"Atem _yes!_ "

As Seto was plunged, fully clothed, into the pool with the merman, he began to regret ever teaching him that meme


End file.
